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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25574371">A Dangerous Pastime</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaNK/pseuds/MorganaNK'>MorganaNK</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Inspector Lynley - All Media Types, Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:56:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>361</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25574371</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaNK/pseuds/MorganaNK</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An established relationship fic.  A shopping trip leads to a mishap for Barbara.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barbara Havers/Thomas Lynley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Dangerous Pastime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Property of Elizabeth George and the BBC, no copyright infringement intended</p><p>
  <b>I'm not saying where the inspiration for this fic came from, except to mention that it is NOT spiders you have to look out for!!!</b>
</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I heard Barbara’s key in the lock and went to meet her and help with the shopping.  As she came through the door, I noticed that she had tears in her eyes and was limping.  I hurried over and took the bags from her hands, placing them on the floor and then moving to her side to support her.</p><p>“What’s wrong?  What happened?”</p><p>“A bee stung my foot.”</p><p>“How?”</p><p>“I felt something go into my sandal and thought it was a stone.  It wasn’t.  God it hurts so much.  I need to sit down.”</p><p>I helped her into a chair.  She slid her foot out of her shoe and looked at the bottom of it, wincing in pain.</p><p>“Let me.”</p><p>I balanced her foot on my knees and checked it.  Between her first and second toes was a bee sting, and the skin around it was swelling and red.  Gently I scraped the sting from her skin, and then put her foot up on another chair.</p><p>“Don’t move, I’m going to get you a cold compress.”</p><p>In the kitchen I ran a cloth under the cold tap, then hurried back to her side and wrapped her foot in it.</p><p>“I feel so stupid.”</p><p>“You have nothing to feel stupid about.  Bee stings can be incredibly painful, especially until you remove the sting.  Each time you took a step it released more venom.  You just rest there, and I’ll put the shopping away.”</p><p>~*~</p><p>I hobbled into the lounge, trying not to put any weight on the ball of my foot.</p><p>“Is it still painful?”</p><p>I nodded.  “I can’t believe what happened, and I bet I couldn’t do it again in a million years.”</p><p>“It was a mishap.  Everything aligned perfectly, unfortunately for you.  It is probably going to hurt for a few days.  You just need to rest your foot as much as possible and let me take care of you.”</p><p>“I’m going to.  I’m walking like a one-legged pirate who has lost his parrot; and don’t you dare tell anyone what happened.”</p><p>Tommy smiled at me.  “I won’t, if anyone asks I’ll just tell them that shopping is a dangerous pastime.”</p>
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